1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to archery bow sights and in particular to a tree stand bow sight that automatically adjusts the sight to compensate for varying target ranges when shooting from a position elevated with respect to ground level.
2. Description of Related Art
Shooting an arrow accurately from a traditional or a compound bow at a a target either alive or inanimate requires a relatively precision sighting device. The archer must judge range and shot angle when shooting from an elevated position and adjust for the trajectory of the arrow under these conditions. Compounding the sighting problem for the game hunting archer is the need to sometimes shoot very quickly in low light conditions and in possibly inclimate weather. The bow hunter must sometimes traverse rugged landscape, often in the dark, or climb into stands or trees, necessitating that a sighting device be simple, light, and able to endure the rigors of daily rough use. Sometimes the bow hunter does not have time for precision sight alignment and must quickly and instinctively shoot an arrow while subconsciously using some portion of the bow, arrow, or sight as a point of reference. There are many bow designs that have been developed as attempts to solve these problems. A majority of these sights use a string-mounted peep sight for the rear sight. These sights are accurate, but have the serious disadvantage of loss of light that occurs when sighting through a small aperture. The most common front sight is the pin-type which requires that the archer judge the range of the target and, if shooting from a position elevated above ground level, such as a tree stand, compensate for change in arrow trajectory due to shooting downward at various angles. There are several pendulum-type sights available commercially that solve this problem to various extents. These sights basically change the height of the front sight by attaching the front sight directly to a swinging weight. These sights require the use of a string-mounted peep sight that have the disadvantages previously mentioned (example: Keller Bow Sight, U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,096). Many of these types of sights are delicate and can be easily damaged in the field.